


Not My Fault

by pannacottafugo



Category: One Piece
Genre: F/M, Fighting and making up, Fluff, Yelling, how do i tag this like actually how
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-31
Updated: 2021-01-31
Packaged: 2021-03-17 14:41:57
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,741
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29101944
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pannacottafugo/pseuds/pannacottafugo
Summary: you get into danger and zoro gets you out.
Relationships: Roronoa Zoro & Reader, Roronoa Zoro/Reader
Comments: 1
Kudos: 29





	Not My Fault

**Author's Note:**

  * For [roronoazoros](https://archiveofourown.org/users/roronoazoros/gifts).



> was talking on discord abt zoro yelling and um,<3 eya this is for my wife bye

Zoro isn’t exactly a talkative person, but for once this silence of his has you on edge. His annoyance seems to be radiating off him in wisps, almost like some kind of aura surrounding his body. He’s  _ massively _ pissed off, you can tell, and it does not seem to be over the deep cut in his arm you had attempted to bandage awkwardly. The strips of cloth are slipping and you wonder if he’d get even angrier if you asked him to stop and let you fix it.

Probably. Moreso because you weren’t exactly a medical genius. 

“Oh, look, there’s the ship.” You hope your words don’t convey the way you feel like crying in relief. The  _ Merry _ means solace, it means alone time, and most of all? It’s the best way to escape Zoro before his wrath can come crashing down on your shoulders. 

He nods, and it’s the stiffest nod you’ve ever seen someone give you. Of course, it does nothing to make you feel any less anxious. You’re tempted to make a joke about how it was a good thing you remembered the way, rather than letting him take lead- but one glance at his darkened face tells you that it’s  _ not _ a good idea to poke the bear right now. Or for the rest of the year.

As you approach the ship, a blond head pops out of a door, and gives you both a wave and a yell of relief. 

“We thought mosshead over there would have gotten the both of you lost again, y’know,” Sanji calls from where he stands. “Thank god you didn’t let him lead.”

You gulp. Even ordinarily, Sanji’s jibes are enough to send Zoro off into the deep end; you really do not want to think about how provoked the swordsman could get when he was already seething with anger.

Probably mad enough to kill you both, you reflected silently. 

Thankfully, Zoro seemed to be too preoccupied with whatever was going on in his mind to pay attention to the cook— surprising, most of all, said cook. The green-haired man was amongst the easiest to provoke, and  _ always _ rose to take the bait. 

You decide that this only made it even worse for you. Fun.

“Um… Zoro,” you venture timidly, as the two of you get closer to the ship’s ramp. “I’m sorry you had to jump in like that. I shouldn’t have wandered off on my own without my knives.”

“Damn right, you shouldn’t have,” was all the response you got, before he stomped his way on board. 

“I won’t do it again,” you mumble to a stray rope hanging over the edge. “Please don’t kill me now.” 

You’re pretty sure he couldn’t hear you even if you spoke normally, but… caution. Yes. And speaking of caution, it definitely felt safer to slide into the water than get on the ship at that exact moment… not that you actually  _ would _ , because Sanji would probably think you slipped and got Zoro to help fish you out.

And the last thing you want is for him to have to save your ass for the second time in three hours. Not good, not good at all.

Sighing, you drag your feet on board. As far as you can see, Zoro isn’t around; probably either in the crows’ nest or on the far side of the ship. Either way, you can bet that he’s fast asleep or heading towards being fast asleep- meaning you are safe for now. Releasing the breath you didn’t realize you were holding, you mosey across the deck for the assured safety of your cabin. You can hear Sanji whistling in the kitchen, so there’s no need for you to answer any questions on what happened. At least, not for a while. 

Stumbling into the dark cabin, you let out yet another sigh and flop onto the pile of cushions Nami insisted on getting a while back. Like all her purchases, this one one definitely was worth it, you thought to yourself, smiling slightly as you recounted the fight the navigator and the captain had had over the cash that had been spent on these. Luffy had wanted to stock up on food- which would have been a good idea except for the fact that the pantry was completely stuffed - and Nami had begun yelling about basic comforts. Zoro had interjected with a comment about how cushions were stupid and that they didn’t need that namby-pamby nonsense, and had left the conversation with a bump on the head for his trouble. 

You are rudely pulled out of your head by the cabin door slamming shut. Scrabbling at the plushy material of the cushions to pull yourself straight, you blink furiously to try and adjust to the complete darkness. You squint at the door, trying to figure out what made it bang shut so violently, when your eyes pick out the figure of a person in the doorway. 

A person with three very distinctive swords at their hip. 

“Zoro..?” This is bad, very bad. You know he can’t injure you seriously (thank goodness for basic decency between crew members) but the glint in his eye scares you. As slowly as you can, your hand steals towards your pocket, where your favorite dagger is. 

He doesn’t say anything, crossing the space between the door and where you sit on the floor in two enormous steps. From what you can see of his face, he doesn’t look  _ too _ angry, but everyone on board the  _ Merry _ is at least slightly unhinged, and Zoro even more so than normal. 

He’s discarded the wrapping over the cut on his arm, you notice. That’s probably not good; you know that it needed to stay on for at least a bit longer, but that’s the least of your concerns right now. 

“You really don’t know how to stay out of trouble, do you? Fuckin’ idiot.”

“I know. Thanks.”

“Even that shit-cook knows better than to go off unarmed into a cave like that- he doesn’t need weapons, but even  _ he _ doesn’t pull a stunt like that. That was pretty stupid.”

You nod. “Is that all?”

“Yeah.” He glowers down at you for a couple of seconds more. “You’re not hurt, right?”

“Nah. You already asked, like… thrice.”

“You never say yes when I ask, though. Then I hear about shit from Chopper. That’s dumb too. If you’re hurt, you say so.”

“Excuse me?” It doesn’t really matter anymore that you’re in the same room as a man with a bounty higher than anything else on board the ship. “This coming from the guy who has the smallest self-preservation sense on board. Do you not remember Cocoyashi? Or Baratie? Heck, I can point out a  _ lot _ more than that, but I’m not going to because I’m nice.” Your eyes narrow at Zoro, who doesn’t look the slightest bit taken aback. “If you’re going to yell at me for something, don’t make yourself a fucking hypocrite while you do it. I won’t deny that yeah, what I did  _ was _ stupid, and getting you to pull me out of that mess was not very nice, but… you’re a lot worse at this, mosshead. You can complain about the effort it took to help, but not about how it’s a fault of mine and mine only.”

Silence. Zoro’s eyebrow twitches.

He sighs, before plopping down on the floor opposite to you. “You’ve gotten it all wrong. I’m not complaining.”

“Yes you are.” Your glare gets more intense. “I’ve said it twice and I’ll say it again. I’m sorry you had to get involved. But you do  _ not _ get to lecture me to change!”

Zoro’s eyebrow twitches again. “And why not? If I see something dumb I’ll call it out. I don’t care if it’s you or Luffy or a marine; it’ll happen.”

“Oh, really?” You snarl. “Great. Why don’t you start by taking a peek in the mirror, then?”

“You shitty little-” You can see the outline of his fist clenching. “That’s not the point right now. The point is, you need to take better care of yourself, because you can’t die too!”

“And what’s it to you if I die?! I’m not Kuina, I didn’t push you to get better at anything. I’m your old neighbor, not your soulmate. So what if I die? You’ll brush it off. It’ll be okay.” 

“No, it won’t be okay,” he growls, and in that moment all the fear you felt before stepping on board of the  _ Merry _ comes rushing back in one sharp burst. “It’ll be my fault if you die, don’t you get it?! I’m the one who dragged you out of the village and told you to come with me. It’s my fault you’re here, and it’ll be my fault if you die. You said I can complain about it being a bother to get you out of somewhere in one piece? That’ll never be a fucking bother, don’t you get that either?!” Zoro’s last words are a roar of anger, and it takes every bit of determination you have not to scoot away from his silhouette. 

You blink, brushing a loose strand of hair out of your eyes. “Are you serious?”

“Yeah.” His face is still contorted with rage, but whatever rage is there is steadily ebbing away. “You didn’t want to come, right? But you did because you said I couldn’t take care of myself.”

You rub the back of your neck- surprisingly, he’s right. “Yeah… but I’m also not stupid. I’m strong enough to protect myself for now, and I’d never have become a pirate just for  _ you _ . I think about myself too, okay? Don’t assume shit like that.”

“As long as you don’t die. Ever.”

You smile a little, rapping your knuckles on his temple. “I’ll die sometime, yeah, but not for a pretty damn long time. Remember how I used to say I’d live till I was a hundred? Still planning to.”

He nods. “Good. And while you’re at it, don’t leave either.”

You raise an eyebrow. “Your face is way too serious to say something that sappy.”

“What, so I say it like that stupid love cook? All simpering and puppy eyes and kissing your hand? You want that?”

You laugh. “Nah. Sanji’s great, but you’re you. And if you did that you wouldn’t be you.”

“Whatever that means.”

“It… wasn’t that hard.”

“It was too.”


End file.
